Cristina opened her eyes and was totally confused about where she was. She fought the man, trying to put the oxygen mask on her face.
"Ma'am, you are in an ambulance. You just passed out in your car and we are taking you to the hospital," the man said. Cristina could see his uniform and realized he was a paramedic, so she stopped fighting him. Then, she remembered Laurel and Iris were in the car with her.
"My girls – they were with me," she said. She had to find out where they were, especially if anything had happened to the two of them.
"Don't worry, your two little girls are fine," the paramedic said. "They are with a police officer. They will meet you at the hospital. The police said that they will bring them to you. I have to tell you that your older little girl is so brave and smart. She is the one who rang 911 and got us to come for you."
"Iris," Cristina said, weakly. She had a splitting headache and she could feel a bump on her forehead.
"Yes, siree," the paramedic continued. "She called 911, got us here and even told the operator where you were by reading the billboard sign, where you guys were. I don't know how many five-year-olds could do that."
"She's really smart," Cristina said. "She has been reading since she was two." Even though her head was aching, she couldn't help but feel proud of Iris. She wondered if anyone had called Irene to tell her about what had happened.
"My mother in law is at home. She needs to be told, so she can come for the children," Cristina said.
"Don't worry about that. That little one of yours already told the police your home phone number, so I am pretty sure she's on her way," the paramedic said.
It was only then that Cristina relaxed. She had another blackout, she had surmised. She was so glad that the children were safe.
When they got to the hospital, she was taken to the emergency room, where she was examined. Her blood was taken and as a precautionary measure, she was taken for a CT scan on her head. Her scans were clean but her bloodwork showed that she was still quite anemic.
"Other than the fact that you are anemic, I can find nothing wrong with you. I gather the anemia is a result of your pregnancy. Have you been taking supplements?" the ER doctor asked.
"I am supposed to but I didn't take any this morning," Cristina said. "I was late dropping off my kids to school."
"Well, this seems to be a more prolonged problem than just this morning, Mrs. Hunt," the doctor, whose name was Dr. Evans, said.
"I know," Cristina said, softly. "I also didn't eat this morning." The doctor shook his head.
"I would say that your fainting spell was a combination of anemia and hypoglycemia," the doctor said. "I would suggest that you see your OB/GYN about your fainting spells. I will also suggest that you do not drive for the moment. If I were your doctor, I would suggest bed rest. I am going to discharge you but please, take better care of yourself. You're pregnant and your health affects the health of your children."
"Yes," Cristina said. "So I can go now?" She was anxious to see Laurel and Iris. They were probably so scared, she thought.
"Yes, please go to the cafeteria and have something to eat," the doctor said. "Your mother in law and your children are here. I am going to let them in." He pushed aside the curtain to reveal Irene, Laurel and Iris waiting there. All three looked like they had been crying.
"Mommy!" the two little girls screamed as they rushed towards their mother's bed. "Babies!" Cristina shrieked.
"Laurel and I were so scared," Iris said. "We cried and cried."
"Awww, I heard you were the bravest little girl ever," Cristina said, ruffling Iris' dark curls. "You called 911 and got them to come for me."
"Yes, I remembered what you told me," Iris said.
"I am glad that you listened, Iris. When Laurel gets a little bigger, we will have to teach her, too," Cristina said.
Irene was wiping the tears away from her eyes, as she came forward. "Oh, Cristina," she said. "I was so worried about you. When I got that call from the police officer, I nearly freaked out at home, wondering if you and the babies were okay."
"Owen is going to be so mad," Cristina said. "I promised him I was going to take care of myself and look what happened."
"Me, too, I promised him I would help you, too," Irene replied. "He is going to be mad at the both of us."
"The doctor says that I should go in and see my OB/GYN," Cristina said. Irene nodded.
"I totally agree," she said. "I am sure they would give us an emergency appointment after what has happened."
"Yes," Cristina said. "They're letting me go home but what about my car?"
"Oh, I have it. When they called me, they told me I had to come get it since it was parked in a precarious position," Irene said. She dug into her purse and showed Cristina the keys.
"Okay, let's go home," Cristina said. Everyone agreed.
The next day, Cristina and Irene went to see the OB/GYN. Dr. Ratner scolded Cristina about taking care of herself.
"So was this the first time you had a blackout," Dr. Ratner asked.
"No," Cristina said, softly. "Well, not exactly. I almost had a fainting spell at school but I managed to steady myself."
"Cristina!" Irene exclaimed in shock. Why would she hide something like that?
Dr. Ratner sighed. "I have no choice but to order you to bed rest for now until these fainting spells stop and your bloodwork is better. No more driving, too."
"But, but…..," Cristina said. "My job."
"Well, the Christmas break is coming so maybe that will give you time to recover but other than that, you will have to take leave from your job," Dr. Ratner said. "I am sorry but keeping yourself healthy is imperative for keeping your babies healthy."
"What happens after the Christmas break?" Cristina asked. "Will I be able to go back to work?"
"That, my dear, is entirely up to you," Dr. Ratner said. "If you do everything that I say and everything stabilizes, then perhaps, you would be able to resume your job."
That didn't sound at all good to Cristina.
It was time to face the music. Cristina had pondered whether to tell Owen at all. If she didn't tell him and found out later, he would be even angrier. However, the decision was taken out of her hands when Iris and Laurel told Owen what had happened.
"Mommy fainted while driving the car," Iris told her step-father, nodding that it was true.
"What?" Owen said. "When did this happen? Your mommy fainted while driving the car." Cristina, who was off-screen, rolled her eyes. She knew what was coming when she finally spoke to him.
"Yes," Iris continued. "And I called 911 and they came and took her away to the hospital. Laurel and I – we were so scared because Mommy didn't want to wake up."
"Thank you, Iris for calling 911 to help Mommy," he said. "You were a brave girl. Can I talk to Mommy now?" The two little girls said their goodbyes and ran off to their room.
"So were you going to tell me?" he asked. He looked exasperated with her.
"Yes," Cristina said. "Everything turned out alright in the end, Owen." She tried to act upbeat, hoping that would deflect some of his anger.
"Cristina, you and the girls could have been killed out there. In fact, my entire family would have been killed, including the two babies that you are carrying. How do you think that makes me feel? That I could have lost all of you," Owen said, his voice breaking a bit.
"I know," she said, softly. "I know, Owen."
"Didn't you tell me that you were going to take care of yourself?" he said. "What caused the fainting?"
"A combination of hypoglycemia and anemia," she told him. "I hadn't eaten that morning, too." Owen slapped his forehead with his palm.
"So what are we going to do about this?" he said. "We cannot continue like this."
"Dr. Ratner put me on bed rest for the Christmas break and then she said we will re-assess," she said.
"Maybe, you quit this job, altogether," Owen said. "Because you haven't shown that you are taking your health issues, seriously."
"I am," she protested. "I started taking the supplements, religiously. I have been getting lots and lots of sleep. I have been eating, properly. I am doing the best that I can, Owen."
"You know it is not just about you," he said. "It's about the babies, too. They are depending on you."
"I am aware of that, Owen," Cristina said. She was frustrated about everyone telling her what to do. She had been chastised by Irene, Dr Ratner and now, Owen. It was like she couldn't do anything right. She didn't feel like talking to him, anymore. She was totally peeved.
"I think I am going to take a rest, Owen," she said. She knew he would not object to that.
"Okay, Cristina, good bye. I love you," he said.
"Goodbye, Owen," she replied and hung up the call. He noticed that she did not say that she loved him back before she hung up.
Staying home for the Christmas break turned out not to be so bad since it was such a festive time of the year. Irene, Cristina and the girls put together a Christmas care package for Owen, which they filled with lots of edible goodies. Iris did a Christmas card, which everCryone signed. Cristina put in new pictures of the family, gathered around the Christmas tree.
Irene did the shopping for their Christmas holiday since Cristina was still on doctor-ordered bed rest. Cristina gave her a list of all of the things they would need. Since she couldn't go shopping at the mall, she ordered everyone's gifts online and when they came, she would wrap them under the tree. Irene had also been given a list of presents to buy from Owen. She had dutifully bought the gifts for the family and wrapped them, with a card saying that the gift was from Owen.
On Christmas Day, Owen excitedly called his family so that he could watch them open their presents. He was surprised when it was only Irene, who answered.
"Hey, mom," he said. "Merry Christmas. Where is my family?"
"Merry Christmas, Owen. Cristina and the girls are out at Denise's house. They are having breakfast, there," Irene replied. "I am here, trying to prepare for our Christmas lunch. Cristina and the girls should be back in a bit."
"So they haven't opened my presents as yet?" he enquired.
"Um, no, they are still under the tree," Irene said. "I guess you should call later if you want to see them open their presents."
"Yeah, I will," he said. "Mom, there is something that has been bothering me, lately, so it is good that I have you alone. It's about Cristina. She's been pretty distant the last few times I called her. It's like she doesn't want to talk to me. I am at a loss here."
"Oh," Irene said. "It's because you scold her about taking care of herself. She probably doesn't want to hear it anymore."
"It's because I love her, mom. I want her to be okay. I want to protect her. I want to take care of her," he said. "She, the girls and the babies are everything to me."
"Well, maybe it a lot more sweetness and a lot less chastisement would be in order, Owen. Also, if you say you want to take care of her, maybe it is time you re-think your current position. Your family needs you but you are thousands of miles away. Soon, there will be two little babies, in addition to your two little girls. That is a lot for one person to handle. You need to be here for them," his mother said. Owen was silent for a bit before he finally answered. His commitment to the country was strong in him but his family was his entire universe.
"Yes, mom, you are right. I have to make a decision, soon," he said. "I know this. Thanks for reminding me."
A/N Please leave your thoughts and comments. I do appreciate when you leave reviews.